SUNDAYS + SUNSETS
Shades of soft purples, yellows, and crimson paint an azure sky dotted with clouds that glow from within. The same subtle tones change whitecaps into a sea of flames that warms the soul despite the bitter wind. Cold hands clasp each other as we snuggle under the shelter of an Italian melton wool top coat. We never know what sunsets or Sundays will bring us. Sometimes it's our favorite toboggan, other times our favorite pair of Wellingtons, but we are absolutely certain that both the sunset and every Sunday with a loved one bring joy.
Sundays are meant to be easy and slow, a time to reflect on the accomplishments of the previous week. Sunsets are much the same; there is no action to be taken to appreciate them. The sun will take its own time; we just need to wait and watch, and savor the moment. The few moments of bliss found in the last flashing of the sun as it falls below the horizon become endless now as we pull our lovers close to experience the time together. Time is a resource that cannot be accumulated, only given. In reflecting on the joy found in those precious moments, we understand the importance of appreciating the time we can spend, the activities we choose to spend that time on, and the loved ones we are grateful to spend that time with.
When we navigate the world outside ourselves, time moves inexorably forward. In a moment of reflection, our minds weave past, present, and future into the fascinatingly complex fabric of our lives. Grampie’s well-cared-for field glasses, passed down through generations, allow us to see things he scarcely could have imagined. In his hands, they watched the colorful rowed dinghies of the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. As we reflect with gratitude at the bay, gazing across the sparkling sea, we use these field glasses to view a World’s Toughest Row boat, silhouetted by the orange sun. Built from cutting-edge composite materials to cross oceans with only a strong back and an iron will, they are a far cry from those lively wooden fishing vessels dancing in the surf. Not knowing what wonders future generations will see through these treasured field glasses creates a wondrous excitement to cherish and care for heirlooms like these.
Sundays and sunsets provide a steadiness that can be relied upon. Every week begins with Sunday, and every day the sun will set, as surely as it will rise again the next. This unshakeable rhythm reminds us to make space in our lives for something that will ground our experience and center our focus. Holding ourselves accountable to reliably provide ourselves with time for contemplation and determination provides a strong foundation for us to return to when life gets hectic. Although many activities, such as gardening, sailing, cooking, or hiking, are great ways to provide space for this grounding and centering to happen, this is more than simply a hobby. Grounding and centering ourselves demands attention and determination. Our hands plunge into the same rich earth our grandmothers cared for with the understanding that we are caretakers for this earth that will provide flavorful foods and aromatic blooms for future generations. We teach our little ones to guide the tiller with a gentle hand and actively acknowledge our ancestors who passed that knowledge to us, recognizing our responsibility to keep that knowledge and use it to likewise guide our lives when we return to shore.
Sunset will return tonight. Sunday will be back next week. Generations past had their own Sundays and their own sunsets, and created traditions that we maintain today. Those traditions connect us to the sunsets and Sundays of the past, but the end of each day and the beginning of each week are different from the ones that have passed. Each new sunset provides us with an opportunity to create our own traditions for the new family we make for ourselves. Every Sunday can be used to infuse new traditions into the remembrances of family dinners stretching back through generations. We are grateful for sunsets and Sundays; they allow us to remember the past and dream of the future while being joyful in the present. This allows us to use the time in our lives to have the time of our lives.
